We are experiencing a burst of new ministries in the Church. Nadia has added a page of Christian humor and quotes to the bulletin. She has also organized a prayer chain. Sonny and Al are doing a great Job serving the, “Park People” with food for their bodies and food for their spirits. They will be going to the park on the 15^th of November with sandwiches, chips/pretzels and drinks to give away. Most importantly at this time of the year they will be giving away all types of clothing such as shoes, jackets, sweaters, and scarves. Bibles and tracts will be available for those that want them. Thank God for giving us the ability to help those needier than ourselves. Sonny has introduced a weekly Bible reading to our program and Al is now doing weekly music specials with his voice and a guitar. The entire Church is becoming much more, “Hands on” and it shows. Our God is an awesome God!

We had our first, “Howdy Neighbor” barbecue. Although the weather was a bit drizzly we had a good turnout and a lot of fun as well. There were door prizes with all that good food and the Lord blessed everyone. We will have another, “Howdy Neighbor” barbecue next year.

Mike and Linda Ahlborn visited on the 29^th of July and presented an evening of inspirational songs and testimony. Twenty-five people were there to be blessed by the gifted voices of this wonderful couple. Mike gave a testimony of how God has saved his life on more than one occasion. God has a purpose for Mike and Mike knows it. The entire church is looking forward to their return.

The Church Picnic was terrific! Thanks in large part to Rich and Dolly, caretakers at Sis-Q-Meadows and church members, everything was beautiful and worked as planned. June 7 turned out to be a perfect day for a picnic. We started with an abbreviated Sabbath service followed by the picnic lunch. The main event during game time was the Balloon Toss. Nehemiah and Cindy defeated defending champs Mary and Ralph in a hard fought battle. Mary and Ralph simply said, “Congratulations” and “Wait until next year.” The paddleboats were a popular attraction as was the “Bolo Golf” game. We might have set a record for the most people playing in the same game of, “Apples to Apples” with 15 contestants. I have saved the best for last, Nehemiah’s baptism. Shall we gather at the river? Indeed we shall. The water was cold but nobody cared as we watched the old Nehemiah become a new man in Christ. This was indeed the highlight of the picnic! See the Group Picture here.

We officially became a nonprofit corporation recognized by Oregon on December 27, 2006. This gives the church and members certain tax advantages that we didn’t enjoy before.